“Fire Drills: The Great Escape!” theme of 1999 Fire Prevention Week
“Fire Drills: The Great Escape!” will be the theme for Fire Prevention Week 1999, October 3-9. This theme, the same as last year`s, will again be the theme next year. It represents a three-year public awareness initiative with the objective of increasing the number of households that have developed and practiced a home fire escape plan. Marc Brown, creator of Arthur–the star of the children`s television show, books, and other children`s attractions–will partner this year`s campaign with the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), sponsor of Fire Prevention Week.
According to the NFPA, some 250,000 people in the United States and Canada participated in the 1998 fire drill and contest associated with last year`s campaign. Eight-year-old William Proctor II, a third-grade student from Fort Washington, Maryland, won the 1998 home fire escape plan contest. He was awarded a trip for four to Orlando, Florida; the trip was sponsored by KIDDE Safety. The Prince George`s County Fire/EMS Department, which submitted the entry, received $1,000 worth of educational materials from the NFPA. n
